In Sync
by JTVectorSigma
Summary: My last one-shot was quite popular. So I decided to do another. Also, I've been bumming about not putting my next chapter for my main fiction up, so this kind of cheered me up to write. I think it turn out good, please read the Author's Notes! They are not just garbage, they have a purpose. Please and thanks, I love all my readers, you guys are great!


Steven Universe Fan Episode #2

 **A/N: I decided not to name this episode. I had to name the fanfic, obviously, but I suck at coming up with good names for Steven Universe episodes (the last one wasn't** _ **that**_ **good). So this one has no name. But I'm open to suggestions about what the name could be!**

 **A/N 2: The first episode of the 2nd steven-bomb aired last night, and it was AWESOME. They really set the bar high this time, but I think they'll live up to it, considering today's episode takes them back to kindergarten. yay! Well, in honor of steven-bomb, and because I'm having more trouble with my main fiction, I thought I'd make another one-shot episode. I guess it takes place... Instead of Sworn to the Sword? Like, after Reformed, and then in this context, the steven bomb episodes never happen? I dunno. This one does not really have anything to do with the other one, nor am I starting an entire continuity of episodes. This is just for fun. But try to take it seriously. Serious Readers, activate!  
** -

Steven set the music player into a dip in the sand, which was stained red in the late evening sun. "Okay," he said, "Last try. You ready?"

"Hmn," Connie nodded. She held out a hand and helped him to his feet. Steven backed up a couple of steps, then began shaking himself in tune with the song. He concentrated, trying to make sure he didn't fall, or else miss a beat. Across the way, Connie swayed to the music, slowly decreasing the distance between the two of them.

They couldn't help laughing as they watched each other dance; neither of them was exactly _good_. But they tried. Finally, they got close enough, and on the last note, Connie pulled Steven into a graceful dip. They held teh pose for a minute, waiting.

And then Connie's arms gave out and Steven dropped to the sand. "Oof!"

Connie sat down, smoothing out her dress so that sand didn't get everywhere. "Nothing," she sighed. "I don't know, Steven, maybe it was just a fluke."

"No way!" the boy cried. "Fusion is just hard. We'll get it eventually."

"I guess." She looked out over the ocean. "But shouldn't you be practicing with the gems, too?"

"Mmm-nn-mmm." Steven shrugged and gave her one of his adorable 'dunno, maybe, it's-not-important, I'd-rather-be-here' type looks. She sighed again.

"Well, regardless, we're obviously doing _something_ wrong. Maybe we'll figure it out tomorrow."

Just then, Pearl's voice filtered down from inside the beach house. " _Steeee-ven!_ " she called, sounding anxious. But not angry.

He looked at Connie. "We better go." The two kids huffed and puffed up the path and shoved open the door. "We're here! We're okay!"

Amethyst sniggered. The gems stood next to the warp pad, waiting. Off to the side, Lion was curled up on Steven's bed. He raised his head at their dramatic entrance. "Oh, there you are," Pearl said impatiently. "Come on, we're going on a mission."

"Whoo!" Steven threw his fists in the air. "All right!" He ran over to the crystal platform and hopped up. "Huh! Okay, where we going?" Then he noticed Connie, standing forlorn at the door.

"I... guess I'll be seein' you," she said. She wasn't upset that he had to go. But she'd kind of been hoping to hang out a bit longer, without all the gem stuff. She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Steven jumped down and ran over, grabbing her arm gently. "Why don't you come with us?"

In the background, Pearl gasped. "Absolutely not!"

Connie stared at her friend, about to tell him all the reasons that was a bad idea. Then his eyes went all starry. She couldn't say no to that face. "Are you sure!"

"No!" Pearl stepped in between them. "It's too dangerous. You could get crushed, or mangled, or eaten, or, or-" She looked at the other gems. "Help me out here!"

Amethyst shrugged and leaned back. "I don't have a problem with it."

Pearl grit her teeth. "Garnet?"

The fusion adjusted her shades and studied the two children. Her face was as impassive as always. Finally- "Come on, Connie." She motioned to the warp pad.

"Ugh," Pearl hung her head. "How am I going to explain this to her parents?"

Steven and Connie paid no mind. The laughed and ran over to the platform, Steven helping Connie up onto it's smooth surface. As soon as Pearl joined them, still looking worried, Garnet activated the warp.  
-

The five of them materialized in a dank, gloomy cave. The place was unfamiliar to Steven, which meant little, considering the number of gem places on Earth. "Why are we here?" He noticed that Connie was staring open mouthed at their surroundings.

"It's just like the Spirit Cave in Book Two," she whispered in awe.

Garnet looked down at Steven. "Gems once used these caverns as an underground headquarters," she told him. "They're unstable, and something is causing quakes that could bring down the entire mountain above."

There was a rumble that shook the ground under their feet. Something above cracked audibly, and a pointed chunk of rock impaled itself in the rock not three feet to Steven's left. He stared at it with wide eyes.

"It's kind of falling apart," Amethyst said without concern.

Pearl dropped to one knee and gather Steven and Connie close. "Connie," she said worriedly, "If anything happens, I want you to head back here, to the warp pad." She handed the girl a small crystalline tube. "This warp whistle will take you back to the beach house."

Connie blinked. "Oh- okay."

Garnet knelt and placed her palm on the floor. After a moment, she stood and walked deeper into the cave. "This way."

The others fell into single file behind her. As they went, Steven noticed that the cave had its own beat, dripping moisture, and the rumbles of the ground. He started humming along to the earthly music. Words came naturally to him.

"The ground is shaking/ and the sky is falling/ and my friends are calling/ to me. To help them save the day. You know we'll find a way." Steven smiled at Connie, and she smiled back, hearing what he heard. "We fight monsters/ and magic/ and sometimes each other-"

"What?" Connie blinked, stumbling over a rock.

" _Some_ times," Steven helped her back up, not breaking rhythm. "But in the end/ we will always be friends." Ahead, Garnet careful pulled aside a boulder, and they continued into a tunnel so low they had to crawl. "Ooh, no matter what goes wrong/ we'll be there for each other." A minute later, they emerged onto a ledge that hung over a deep cleft in the rock, an underground chasm that disappeared into blackness. "No matter how long/ we have to fight we'll win, together/ forever..."

On the other side was an identical ledge, the other side of a stone bridge that was long gone. Garnet leapt across, undeterred. Amethyst grabbed Steven under one arm, Connie under the other, and followed the fusion across. "Things are getting dark/ they start to fall apart/ and then inside your heart/ you call." Pearl daintily jumped onto the ledge beside the others, and together the five of them walked into a thankfully larger tunnel. "We're gonna save the day/ that's all I gotta say/ you're gonna be okay..." At some point, Connie and Pearl had begun to sing backup for the song. Steven continued. "Because, no matter what goes wrong/ we'll be there for each other/ no matter how long/ we have to fight we'll win, together/ forever..."

They emerged into a massive room just as Steven ran out of lyrics for his impromptu concert. But it didn't really matter, because he instinctively knew they'd reached their destination.

The room wasn't wet like the others. The rocks were jagged, newly broken. Half of the floor was missing, a drop off going down maybe hundreds of feet. And across the way, the thing that had dug it out writhed on the floor. It was a huge, slithering wass of light green tentacles, sprouting from under a darker-green, pointed dome. Some of the tendrils were stabbed into the wall, cutting out more rock. Others were pulverizing the boulders already removed into gravel, which got sucked up into the dome and aparently melted. A steady stream of glowing orange liquid flowed out behind it, across the floor, and over the edge.

Steven studied it for a moment and came to a surprising conclusion. "That doesn't look like a gem monster."

"No, it doesn't," Garnet agreed.

"It's one of Peridot's machines," Pearl said angrily. "But what's it doing here?"

Amethyst growled. "Who cares? Let's smash it!"

"P-Peridot?" Connie backed up a step. "Isn't she the evil gem who wants to destroy the Earth?"

Steven glanced up at Garnet, who met his gaze evenly. He decided to just be honest with Connie. "She's a bad gem. But we don't know what her plans are anymore."

"That's right," Amethyst wrapped an arm around Connie's shoulders. "So that's why we have to smash that thing. This is gonna be fun," she added.

"Gems," Garnet called out, "Prepare for battle!" She clenched her fists and concentrated, pulling the energy of all her surroundings into her gem, and forcing it solid. Her gauntlets flashed into existance over her hands.

Amethyst shrugged and dropped Connie, reaching to her gem and pulling outward. Care-free spirit stretched outward into her whip.

Pearl stepped in front of Steven, her movements precise and focused. She inclined her head, and a shaft of pure power emerged from her gem. She plucked it from the air and pointed the spear at the machine.

The three of them stood in a 'V', in front of the children. "Wait," Steven said, "I want to help!"

"Protect Connie," Pearl snapped at him, then threw herself forewards next to her fellow gems. Steven watched as the machine instantly reacted.

Peridot's previous robots had next to no defensive capabilities. They'd smushed easy. This thing... not so much. Its tentacles surged outward, quickly seperating the gems. Amethyst wrapped her whip around one, only to have herself be yanked forward hard. Three more promptly trapped her in their grip.

Garnet dodged the machine's appendages easily. As she got closer, it aimed the spout of burbling lava at her, sending it right at her face. But the fusion dived into the spray fearlessly; she wasn't bothered by the heat. In fact, she forced herself closer to the opening, hoping to stop up the flow, which would probably cause the machine to blow up. Garnet was so focused on that plan, she forgot to watch for other possibilities. A pair of tendrils pinned her arms to her sides and hoisted her up into the air.

Pearl had been holding her own, using dual spears to slice any tendril that came close. Each time, it would ooze green goop for a few seconds, then the goop would harden into a new length of mechanical arm. While there were only abouit a dozen, Pearl fel tlike she was fighting hundreds. And not doing too bad. Then she noticed Garnet and Amethyst held captive in the machine's grip. Distracted, the limbs swiftly placed her in the same predicament.

Steven watched in horror as the robot overwhelmed all three of the gems. It lifted them high into he air, holding them- for what, he didn't want to think about. Suddenly, Connie rushed past him, scooping up as big a rock as she could. "We have to help them," she shouted. For a moment, Steven was too surprised to do anything. Then he ran after her.

"Connie, no!" he cried.

"Hyah!" she brought down the stone on one of the thin appendages. It splintered like it was made out of glass, oozing toothpaste-colored goo. Immediantly, two other limbs sprang outward. They moved so fast, they wouldn't just hit Connie; they'd impale her. She gasped, afraid, and stepped back.

With a monstrous _clang_ , the tentacles impacted on Steven's shield. He'd dived in front of Connie just in time, stopping the lethal blow. The impact actually shattered the ends of the two tendrils.

But it also sent Steven flying backwards. He hit the ground hard, rolling. He rolled across the broken, sharp rocks- and right over the edge of the cliff. " _STEVEN_!" four voices cried out in unison. Connie ran over to the edge, the robot preoccupied with healing three more broken parts as well as keeping its captives.

Connie reached the edge and saw Steven had managed to grab one of the rocks that hung over, and was dangling from it with one hand. "Hold on!" she said, knowing he didn't have a choice. Down below was a lake of molten rock, glowing like the entrance to Hades. Connie reached out and grabbed Steven's forearm, just as his fingers gave way.

He looked down at the lava, then up at Connie, struggling to hold onto his arm. "You have to let go!" he cried.

"Are you crazy?" Connie tightened her grip on his arm. "You'll die!"

Steven looked down at the lava again. "Maybe my bubble will protect me. But I'm not taking that chance with you! Go back to the warp pad, get out of here!"

Connie was sweating from both the heat of the molten lake and the effort of holding him up. "Steven-" she started.

"No, Connie!" he shouted. "You have to go. I- I really care about you, and I can't let anything happen to you!" He was crying now, thick tears that evaporated on his cheeks.

Connie turned red when Steven said that. "I-I really care about you, too," she said. For a moment she wavered, her grip slackening the merest of fractions. Then it turned into a vice that was almost painful for Steven. "And that's why I'm never letting you go!" Connie heaved upward with every ounce of her strength, pulling Steven up and over the edge. The movement sent them spinning around, and Steven was so surprised, he stumbled, almost falling. He tripped backwards, and Connie grabbed him, stopping him from falling.

Time seemed to slow. Steven's gaze met Connie's. And then there was a brilliant flash of light.  
-

"Huh? I- You- We fused?" Stevonnie looked down at their body. Long, graceful limbs that felt both awkward and natural, familiar and alien. They stood, slowly, getting a feel for it. And instantly realized that it felt exactly like last time.

Stevonnie laughed. "Connie, we did it! I knew we could." They glanced over at the robot, still holding the gems hostage. "We have to help them. How?" Stevonnie looked up at the powerful machine.

Then a loud roar shook the cavern. Not the rumble of Peridot's machine. It was the throaty sound of an animal they knew well.

A pink vortex swirled open next to Stevonnie, and Lion bounded out onto the battlefield. "Graaargh!" he roared, sending a shockwave towards the ceiling. The vibrations caused one of the stalactites to break free, plunging down onto the robot's dome. The thing cracked a little, and its arms drooped. It was dazed.

"Lion!" Stevonnie wrapped their arms around the fantastical beast's neck. "You came for us! You knew we needed your help!"

"Raerh," he rumbled. The fusion stepped back as Lion lowered his head. They knew what that meant. Stevonnie reached out into the pink fur, feeling the odd sensation of moving into the pocket dimension. Their fingers grasped a familiar object.

High above, Pearl gasped as Stevonnie pulled out Rose's sword. They slid it out of the scabbard and lifted it high. Then they pushed the latter backed into Lion's mane, and raised the sword in an agressive posture.

The stunned machine was far from beaten. It raised up its free arms, lashing them towards Stevonnie. The fusion ducked under them, and ran for the dome. As they ran, they started to sing. "The ground is shaking/ and the sky is falling/ and my friends are calling/ to me..."

They jumped over another couple tentacles, then sliced off the arms holding the gems. "Yeah, go Stevonnie!" Amethyst called out as the three of them fell heavily to the ground. Pearl was still gaping. The fusion dodged another strike, and another, still singing. "No matter what goes wrong/ we'll be there for each other..." They leapt into the air, far higher than should have been possible, and aimed the blade downwards. "No matter how long/ we have to fight we'll win, together/ forever!" Stevonnie dropped down onto the dome, plunging the sword into the deep crack.

The machine froze instantly. It began to smoke and sputter, parts grinding. Ooze seeped out, then retracted. It shrieked a slight bit. And then, like a glass vase shot with a BB gun, it exploded in a fountain of toothpaste-liquid.  
-

"Whoo hoo, yeah!" Amethyst shook herself, splattering even more goo around the cave. The remains of the dead robot were scattered everywhere, bits of green armor and twitching tentacles. Its innards had covered all of them in a flood of goop.

Stevonnie stood up, a little shaky. They tried to step, but stumbled, leaning on Rose's sword. Lion stepped over and put his head beneath their arm, helping them. "Heh he," they laughed gently.

Pearl and Garnet stood up just as slowly, the former shuddering at the layer of ooze. Garnet simply charged her skin with negative energy, forcing the goop to fly off. She looked over at Stevonnie and smiled. "Nice job."

"Yes," Pearl agreed, "Well done." She still seemed to be in shock. "Can you unfuse?"

Stevonnie looked down at their body. "I, we- uh, maybe. Last time..." They trailed off, remembering the odd party. Almost instantly, there was a loud _pop_ , and Steven found himself sitting on the goo-covered ground, staring at Connie, who was also sitting in the goo. He started to chuckle, and then laugh.

Garnet stood off to the side, next to Pearl. "Whatever Peridot was searching for, she'll try again."

The smaller gem glanced at her. "We might not be around when that happens. We'll have to be vigilant."

"Yes. And eventually, we'll have to fight her. And hopefully, we'll be ready." Garnet watched as Steven and Connie did a little dance in the goop. "We all need to be ready."

Connie giggled uncontrollably, then tossed a big handful of goop at Steven. "Haha- hey!" He tossed his own ball of goop, and then Amethyst dived in between.

"Goop fight!" she belly flopped onto them, spraying ooze everywhere. The three of them surfaced out of the puddle of goo and laughed.  
-

 **A/N: aaaaaand starshapediris. I tried to work a song in. I don't know if it worked or not. Please review!**


End file.
